NASA is offering a whole slew of space artifacts to education institutions, museums, and other such organizations for their programs. The items “represent significant human spaceflight technologies, processes and accomplishments from NASA’s past and present space exploration programs.” The artifacts are viewable at gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.htm.
This opportunity “is being offered through NASA’s partnership with the General Services Administration. Together they developed the first-of-its-kind Web-based, electronic viewing portal for space artifacts. These artifacts are from the Space Shuttle, Hubble Space Telescope, Apollo, and International Space Station Programs. Examples of artifacts include a space shuttle payload bay mockup, cockpit seats, and Apollo era glove assemblies.”
Each artifact will be available for 42 days. For the first 21 days, internal organizations such as NASA visitor centers, agency exhibit managers, and the Smithsonian Institution may request artifacts. External organizations, including museums, schools, universities, libraries, and planetariums, may request artifacts the following 21 days. After the screening period closes, and at the completion of the request process, organizations will be notified about the status of their request. Artifacts are provided free of charge, however, requesting organizations must pay for shipping and any special handling costs.
To date, approximately 28,500 items of historic space significance have been offered, mainly from the shuttle, with contributions from Hubble, Apollo, Mercury, Gemini, and space station programs. Approximately 3,000 artifacts have been requested.
For information about NASA’s space shuttle transition and artifacts, visit www.nasa.gov/transition.